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Forums - News / General |
For General modelling or hobby-related topics that are not covered by any other specific forum. Please keep to topics concerning the hobby. |
| Topics | 2987 |
| Messages | 22321 |
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| Subject: | Theft? |  |
| Date: | Dec 1, 2002 |
| From: | Mark | |
Years ago I was present at a hobby shop where a dicussion between the owner and a sales rep revolved around Acadamy models. The shop owner was expaining (I thought rather patiently) why he wouldn't carry kits from that copmany, "They robbed Tamiya. Their kits are nothing but copies". The sales rep's only defence was, "Well, Tamiya doesn't produce the M-10 anymore and how can you be positive its their (Tamiya's) kit? Besides, they're (refering to Acadamy)cheaper!".
Lets face it, the M-10, M-36, PzkPfw IV, et.al. did appear to be just "unlicensed" copies of Tamiya's kits.
That had me thinking, if these kits were copies, made without the origonal producer's premission, then what Acadamy was doing was, in my book, just theft (even if copyright laws were satisfied by minor alterations to the copied kit).
I see the whole thing being played out again by Trumpeter. The majority of their kits are, to me at least, pretty obvious copies of other peoples work (whether the origonals were resin or injection molded). The JS IIIM being a prime example. Yes, most show some level of alteration but at the core they are still copies.
For me, it would just not right to encourage this sort of behavior and as a result I don't buy Trumpeter kits.
I'd love for someone to assure me I'm wrong, that their 1/32 scale MiG kits are licensed enlargements of Tamiya's MiG. That the JS IIIM they produce is likewise based on agreements with Tamiya. That the resin kit makers are getting payment for providing prototypes to Trumpeter's mold makers. Or better yet to assure me that similarities between Trumpeter's kits and those of other companies are purely coincidental.
I'm really not trying to start a flame war and I know many here are thrilled they don't have to pay more than a hundred bucks for an S-Tank anymore but I honestly want to know. And if it turns out that Trumpeter is knocking-off the work of others without compensation is it right to become a party to such questionable conduct?
Mark |
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 | Theft? - Mark - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . I agree - Alex Johnson - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: I agree BUT - Mark Norman - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: I agree - Ken Hartlen - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: I agree - MSW - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: I agree - Rick Cooper - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: I agree - Lachlan Gilbert - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not unusual - Peter Ong - Dec 2, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I can believe that - Alex Johnson - Dec 2, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Something fishy - Kurt Laughlin - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . Re: identity theft? - Christophe Jacquemont - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: identity theft? - Steve Frost - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: identity theft? - Paul A. Owen - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . Re: Theft? - c starling - Dec 1, 2002 |
| . . . Re: Theft? - Mark Rethoret - Dec 3, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: Theft? - Richard Tellejohn - Dec 2, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . Alterations - Julio Paz - Dec 3, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Alterations - Mark Rethoret - Dec 4, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hahaha - Julio Paz - Dec 4, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: hahaha - David Tong - Dec 4, 2002 |
| . . . International Plastics Conspiracy - Peter Gay - Dec 3, 2002 |
| . . . Re: Theft? - Dave Williams - Dec 8, 2002 |
| . . . . . . Re: Theft? - Saul Garcia - Dec 8, 2002 |
| . . . . . . . . . Re: Theft? - Fred A. Robinson - Dec 10, 2002 |
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